In 1982, a big budget, Korean war epic entitled INCHON was released to theatres.
It was directed by Terence Young (director of several of the best James Bond films), and starred Laurence Olivier as Gen. Douglas MacArthur. It also starred Jacqueline Bisset, Ben Gazzara, Toshiro Mifune, and Richard Roundtree.
Thinking this was a big war film, I desperately wanted to see it. But, not being old enough to drive, my parents refused to take me. Why? Because of the people behind the film.
The film was produced by the Rev. Sung Myung Moon and his Unification Church. I guess that, even though MGM was releasing the film, my parents felt seeing the film was the same as giving money to them at the airport.
So, I wasn’t allowed to see it. And I’ve never really forgiven them for that fact.
Why? Because after that brief theatrical release, the film essentially disappeared.
The reviews for the film were beyond terrible. Back before he was political, Michael Medved wrote a whole section in his “Golden Turkey Awards” book about the film. There is an excellent write up of the film on the IMDB that makes it sound even worse.
As far as I could tell, the film never really had a proper cable airing, on any of the major pay cable channels. It has never been released on VHS, laser, or DVD. I’ve had it programmed in my Tivo Wish List for several years now, and it hasn’t aired.
There are reports that it has been shown on the Moon owned Goodlife cable channel, a channel that my cable system doesn’t carry. And, there have been bootlegs available on Ebay and other outlets. So, it does still exist.
I’m not sure who owns the film today. MGM? Moon? But, with everything else being released to DVD these days, it may be time for a release. And with Moon also owning the Washington Times, and that not having much of a stigma, maybe there wouldn't be the controversy.
Is the film as bad as they say? I’d like to see for myself.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Forgotten Film: INCHON (1982)
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6 comments:
Really interesting post, I had never heard of this movie (and for good reason, obviously). I love hearing about movies like this, that have almost been sealed off from the public. Until this year you could include Alejandro Jodorowsky's film in this lot (proof that Inchon could still see the light of day).
I wrote about Inchon on my blog today: http://scoobiedavis.blogspot.com/2007/06/ronald-reagans-revealing-movie-review-i.html I got a bootleg DVD from Superhappyfun: http://www.superhappyfun.com
You know, I had no idea this film was so "lost"-I would have thought for sure it had atleast a VHS release, but that's really very interesting.
I totally remember this film being a HUGE disaster & turkey, and Johnny Carson & Joan Rivers making jokes about it (a la ISHTAR) at the time.
I know my grandmother (from whom I inherited my movie watching ways) saw this movie at the theatre at the time & and I remember her saying how awful it was, but maybe I'll see if she can remember anything more about it.
They had a lot of Americans who were living in Korea at the time acting as extras. My Dad was in the bar fight scene and a boy I went to school with had to lay "dead" in the sun for a long time and got sunburned. We were waiting in a hotel all day to be extras but the bus broke down so we didn't get to be in the movie. I'd love to get my hands on a copy!
I did see the film 4 times in NY area theaters and once in a gala fundraising benefit at the Kennedy Center with proceeds going to Veterans of Foreign Wars. I just had to see for myself what the audience reaction was to the rolling of credits that prominently included Sun Myung Moon.
Perhaps, the story line itself was the failure, or maybe the heavy editing to remove one actor from all scenes, whatever. (Two dramatically diverse CD presentations have been offered as at 2006. More later.)
The point of this movie was that it was a thank you to the 16 nations of U.N. who committed to a fight often referred to as "the forgotten war."
Significantly, within a month of the Inchon landing, the U.N. forces struck Hungnam, well north of the 38th Parallel.
"Before Hungnam was overrun by the U.S. forces, rumors spread that they were coming soon. Rev. Moon escaped Hungnam Prison on 14 October, 1950. On the 12th, guards had started to take the prisoners and execute them. Rev. Moon was just about to be called and shot when a US air force bombing raid began. The guards all ran away and Rev. Moon and some other inmates escaped on foot. " -M. Inglis, 28 April, 2000, "Rev. Moon's Answers to Questions About Hungnam." Source: http://www.tparents.org/Moon-Talks/sunmyungmoon00/UM000427.htm
Why not enjoy the really great part of this movie, the soundtrack, Jerry Goldsmith's INCHON. Hear parts of it, a 2-CD set from a limited production of only 1500 units. First, read a review at
http://movingmusic.blogspot.com/search?q=inchon
And then enjoy samplings at
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.5020/.f
Wow! I took part in this movie as an extra! I was so excited to be part of the movie at the time. I was on my last month in Korea as a soldier. I went to see the movie a year or two later. I was disappointed in the finished product. I was excited to have met Richard Roundtree and Jacqueline Bisset. Well, that was a fun experience. The only injustice is that the Korean Soldiers who took part in the movie were not paid. The Korean government got the money for the extras. I remember the U.S. soldiers going on strike because they wanted to pay us $50 a day and we ended up getting a raise plus bonus. The worst part of it all was the fact that a young kid who was hired as an extra to play the part of a North Korean soldier was run over by one of the tanks. Besides that it was fun for me!
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